Infiniti Red Bull Racing Claims a One-Two Finish and its 100th Podium

ABU DHABI – For Sebastian Vettel, the records just keep on coming. His crushing victory at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was not only the four-time champion's 11th win of the season so far but also his seventh in a row, a result that draws him level with Michael Schumacher's 2004 record for consecutive wins.

Mark Webber, meanwhile, finished second to bring the team its third one-two finish of the season and its 15th overall.

Sebastian's latest win was set up at the start. When Mark got away slowly from pole position Seb leapt into the lead. Nico Rosberg also made a good start. He passed Mark into the first corner and attempted to challenge Seb. It didn't work, however, and the threat to Seb from the Mercedes driver ended there.

Within four laps, Vettel had carved out a three-second gap to his compatriot and by the time Rosberg made his first visit to pit lane on lap 10, Seb's advantage had stretched to over eight seconds.

From there Vettel continued to build a gap and when Mark muscled his way past Rosberg on lap 19 to steal second place, the champion's lead over his team-mate was a whopping 27 seconds.

From there, it was simply a matter of controlling things until the checkered flag appeared. Then it was time to celebrate. Reprising his post-Indian GP salute to the crowd, Seb rattled off sequence of tire-smoking donuts, though this time he was careful to avoid the sanctions he had received in Delhi and spun his RB9 round in a run-off area before piloting it carefully back to parc fermé for the podium ceremony.

"I think today was incredible," he said afterwards. "The pace we had was scary at some stages, I felt very, very good on the soft tires and was able to pull out a good gap in the first couple of laps.

"I think it's difficult, being an active member of the team, to put things like today into perspective," he added. "When I think of the times we've experienced over the last few years, it's incredible to have a strong group of people together that believes so much in what they do. To be part of that is great and the makes me proud. The car was so enjoyable on every single lap. There are not many races when you are in complete control of the car – so it's special. I didn't get the maximum out of myself [in qualifying], but we made up for it today."

Once Rosberg was cleared, Mark, too, enjoyed a relatively comfortable run to the flag to take his sixth podium finish of the year. He admitted, however, that he could not match his teammate's pace in the race.

"Seb was on another planet today and was very, very strong in the first stint," he said. "He was super quick and his tires didn't wear out, which is a recipe for disaster for the rest of the opposition, me included.

"Nico had a very good start on both Sebastian and I, but fortunately it wasn't a long run to the first corner. We got under way from there and I attacked Nico on the first lap, but then we had to look after the tires, so we waited and then on lap eight or nine we were in trouble with the rears. I made a good move on Nico to get back into position. It would have been good to win, but we got second and I'll go to Austin and try and do better."

Team Principal Christian Horner was full of praised for the team's third one-two result of the season.

"An incredible team performance today," he said. "A truly dominant display from Sebastian, who once again astounded us with the levels of performance that he's reached this year, backed up with an extremely strong drive by Mark to achieve our third one-two finish of the season.

"At no point did Sebastian look under threat and Mark, having dropped behind Nico at the start, made a strong move on him to get himself back into second position. From there it was a matter of controlling the race to the checkered flag. Getting this result at such a prestigious venue continues the enjoyment of this season and, with two races to go, we'll be pushing just as hard to try and repeat what has been a perfect performance."

Behind the Red Bulls, Rosberg finished third, while Romain Grosjean took fourth place for Lotus. Fernando Alonso came home in fifth place, ahead of one-stopping Paul Di Resta of Force India. Lewis Hamilton was seventh in the second Mercedes, with Felipe Massa eighth in the second Ferrari. The final two points places were occupied by McLaren's Sergio Perez and Adrian Sutil in the second Force India.

Car 1 SEBASTIAN VETTEL, Finish Position: WINNER, Start Position: 2nd"I think today was incredible; pace we had was scary at some stages. I felt very, very good on the soft tires and was able to pull out a good gap in the first couple of laps. I think it's difficult, being an active member of the team, to put things like today into perspective. When I think of the times we've experienced over the last few years, it's incredible to have a strong group of people together that believes so much in what they do. To be part of that is great and the makes me proud. The car was so enjoyable on every single lap. There are not that many races when you are in complete control of the car – so it's special. I didn't get the maximum out of myself yesterday, but we made up for it today."

Car 2 MARK WEBBER, Finish Position: 2nd, Start Position: 1st"Seb was on another planet today and was very, very strong in the first stint. He was super quick and his tires didn't wear out, which is a recipe for disaster for the rest of the opposition, me included. Nico had a very good start on both Sebastian and I, but fortunately it wasn't a long run to the first corner. We got under way from there and I attacked Nico on the first lap, but then we had to look after the tires, so we waited and then on lap eight or nine we were in trouble with the rears. I made a good move on Nico to get back into position. It would have been good to win, but we got second and I'll go to Austin and try and do better."

CHRISTIAN HORNER, Team Principal"An incredible team performance today. A truly dominant display from Sebastian, who once again astounded us with the levels of performance that he's reached this year, backed up with an extremely strong drive by Mark to achieve our third one-two finish of the season. At no point did Sebastian look under threat and Mark, having dropped behind Nico at the start, made a strong move on him to get himself back into second position. From there it was a matter of controlling the race to the checkered flag. Getting this result at such a prestigious venue continues the enjoyment of this season and, with two races to go, we'll be pushing just as hard to try and repeat what has been a perfect performance."

THIERRY SALVI, Renault"What an amazing weekend, with both drivers out in front in qualifying and the race. That was a driving demonstration from Seb, while Mark was able to get out of the traffic after a difficult start and secure a great 1-2. It's a fantastic result for Renault as well on such a demanding track, particularly after the difficulties we experienced at the last race with Mark. We're happy to give him the weapons he needs to fight in the race – and help us enjoy the end of the season!"

About InfinitiInfiniti Motor Company Ltd. is headquartered in Hong Kong with sales operations in approximately 50 countries. The Infiniti brand was launched in 1989. Its range of premium automobiles is currently built in manufacturing facilities in Japan and the United States. Production in China and Europe will start soon along with the expansion of the brand's portfolio.

As the Title Partner and Vehicle Performance Partner of Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Infiniti has a far-reaching technical collaboration with the Formula One team, and Sebastian Vettel, its four-time World Champion driver, serves as Infiniti's Director of Performance.

More information about Infiniti, its Total Ownership Experience® and its industry leading technologies can be found at www.infiniti.com. For the latest news on Infiniti, visit InfinitiNews.com, "like" Infiniti on Facebook or follow the brand on Twitter @InfinitiUSA. For interesting content on Infiniti in Formula One visit: www.infiniti-gp.com, www.youtube.com/InfinitiGP or follow on Twitter @InfinitiGP.

About Infiniti in Formula OneInfiniti, the premium automotive brand, starts the 2013 season as Title Partner and Vehicle Performance Partner of Infiniti Red Bull Racing. With a deepened technical collaboration across people, process and technologies, an 'open door' approach is enabling both sides to access a pool of innovation, new technologies and R&D resources in the shared pursuit of precision and performance.

Since the partnership's inception in 2011 it has already seen the launch of the Infiniti FX Vettel Edition and product development input from Sebastian Vettel and test driver Sebastien Buemi for the all-new Infiniti Q50 premium sports saloon. Infiniti continues to be the most visible automotive brand in Formula One, and the deepened partnership will ensure closer alignment on an increasing number of future team collaborations.